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About Me

I am a below knee amputee. More importantly, I am also Mommy to two boys, a very active 10 year old (Robby) and an mischievous toddler (Timmy). I have learned that being a parent with a disability can create some unusual and sometimes humorous situations.
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Friday, September 20, 2013

The Leg Trap

I
have to admit that although I had admirable intentions, I haven't been
to the gym since November. My entire fitness routine was sidelined from
the injuries sustained when I fell before Thanksgiving. It wasn't until
June that I was able to walk up stairs without my ankle feeling weak and
tender. Nearly 10 months since the accident, I have only recently felt
normal and able to work-out.

One morning I
woke up early and finished all of my reports before the boys woke.
Feeling strong and eager to regain my momentum, I thought it was the
perfect day to tackle the gym. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law intervened. I
searched the house for an hour but couldn't find my leg!

I
have my Mod III set up and aligned for the gym. It took a long time to
dial in the appropriate height for my sneakers, and it is the only
socket which feels comfortable when I'm hopping up and down. In addition
to the alignment issues, my left sneaker was laced onto that foot. I
certainly couldn't work out wearing a sneaker and a sandal, so my
work-out plans were spoiled.

Despite
looking through closets and in cabinets, I wasn't able to find my leg.
My frustrations with my missing leg reached a fevered pitch. I hate
losing things, and it felt utterly absurd to have lost a leg!

I
was about to resign myself to the fact that my leg was gone forever
when Robby had an epiphany. Looking up at me from the couch the other
day he said, "Momom, I think I remember where I saw your running leg." I
reminded him that I had offered a $5 reward to anybody who found it,
and he shot off the couch like a dart. I heard the front door open and
slam behind him, and I watched him run into the woods.

A
few minutes later he came into the house, triumphantly holding a muck
covered, dirt ridden leg covered with leave bits. I immediately grabbed
the leg before he was able to put it on our sofa and placed it in the
sink.Before hosing it down I asked Robby where he found it.

That's
when I found out that Robby and his friend Rowan had tried to make a
squirrel trap. From what I gather, they built the trap back in June by
putting carrots into the bottom of my socket and balancing a board on
top. When the animal walked into the socket, they figured that the leg
would move and dislodge the board, trapping the critter.

The
friends diligently covered the leg with dirt and leaves to create a
camouflage and promptly forgot about it. Rowan went away for the summer,
and Robby became distracted with vacation fun. It wasn't until she came
home that he remembered the trap--and my leg.

Thankfully,
their plan was ill-conceived, and they didn't catch any wildlife in my
socket. To his dismay the reward money was revoked when I learned that
he was the one responsible for the missing leg. I was angry but had a
hard time keeping a straight face while saying the words, "Don't ever
take any of Momom's legs out of the house."

Knowing that I needed a little alone time to decompress, I sought refuge in my bedroom. I fired up my laptop, logged onto my HotSpot ShieldVPN , which instantly transported my computer to New Zealand, and proceeded to investigate ways to remove 4 months of forest gunk from my carbon fiber foot.